The state higher secondary exams that began on Thursday became an unlikely stage for political campaigning ahead of the Assembly elections.

Outside Sanskrit Collegiate School, BJP supporters set up a desk beneath a festoon showing an oversized picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a message reading: “2026, Ebar bodlabe Bangla” (Bengal will change).

The BJP’s youth wing, Yuva Morcha, arrived at the government school at 8am, two hours before the exam began. The cadres brought chairs, tables and a desk displaying pocket-sized calendars featuring Modi’s photograph and greetings. The calendars were handed to examinees along with bottles of mineral water.

Not to be outdone, Trinamool Congress councillor of Ward 40, Suparna Dutta, arrived with her team at 8.30am. They also put up a festoon featuring chief minister Mamata Banerjee wishing the students well for their board exams.

As examinees started arriving, cadres from both parties, wearing badges in their political colours, approached students with calendars, pens and bottles of water. They asked the candidates if they needed anything, and items were often handed out before the students could answer. Rival workers competed to reach as many examinees as possible.

Trinamool workers, who were in greater numbers, often formed a ring around a student to keep competitors at bay, while the BJP’s Yuva Morcha members distributed calendars to those they could reach.

Makeshift helpdesks set up by political parties for candidates outside exam centres are not new in Bengal. A few years ago, the Trinamool competed with Left parties, particularly the CPM, whose student wing SFI used to field workers during exams. With the BJP emerging as the main opposition, it has now deployed its youth wing to compete with Trinamool in this space.

Many said that earlier election-time overtures were “less blatant”, but the BJP’s “Ebar bodlabe Bangla” messaging left little doubt about the political intent.

Subodh Das, president of the Yuva Morcha’s north Calcutta unit, said: “It’s true that we put up the festoon that said ‘Ebar bodlabe Bangla’. This is what the people of Bengal aspire for. We displayed the festoon with the Prime Minister’s picture while also extending help to candidates. There is nothing wrong with it.”

Asked about the political undertones of the festoon, Das said that Trinamool had “also put up a picture of chief minister Mamata Banerjee”.

Trinamool councillor Suparna Dutta said their team did not run a political campaign like the BJP. “The chief minister has only greeted the examinees. What the BJP did was akin to holding an election campaign at an exam centre. We will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission,” she said.

Yuva Morcha leaders said help camps were set up at three schools in north Calcutta, including Sanskrit Collegiate School.